Trends in obstetric radiography in Britain between 1939 and 1981 are reported. During this period the number of films needed to complete each examination decreased. The timing of X-rays also changed towards late pregnancy, and there was virtual elimination of all first trimester exposures following the introduction of the '10-day rule' in 1972. After the introduction of ultrasound, X-rays for twins decreased, X-rays for breech presentations remained unchanged and X-rays for foetal maturity increased. Despite repeated demonstrations of the cancer risk, the proportion of exposed infants was higher in 1970-81 (14%) than in 1960-9 (11%) or 1950-9 (12%). There were fewer X-rays in 1976-81 (12%) than in 1970-5 (15%), but it is possible that withdrawal of the '10-day rule' in 1985 will reverse this trend.
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Gilman et al. (1989) studied this question.
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